Last Modified: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 3:38 p.m.

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“We have an aircraft that's crashed on top of a hangar. There's actually no fire, no injuries, but the airplane is spilling fuel,” the owner of the plane told a 911 dispatcher at about 3:30 p.m. “I think there's probably 10 or 20 gallons in the airplane.”

Bell, the only one onboard, suffered minor injuries and facial lacerations.

Henderson County sheriff's deputies secured the area with crime scene tape, warning bystanders of the possibility of an explosion from the leaking fuel and a live electrical wire brought down in the crash.

Dameon Graham, taking advantage of beautiful weather, was outside listening to music on his cellphone and raking a yard on Eastbrook Lane when he saw the plane descending.

“I saw it lower than normal,” he said, but seeing planes take off and land on a regular basis, he didn't think much of it. “I looked down and in just a split second – a bang!”

The sound of the crash overpowered the full blast of his headphones, a power he likened to an “8-Richter-scale” earthquake.

“I was inside with the TV going and all that kind of stuff and I even heard it. I mean it was loud!” said Lenora Mutter of Eastbrook Lane. “I said, ‘What was that?' He said, ‘A plane crashed.'”

The two rushed out and saw Bell on the roof. Members of the Blue Ridge Fire Department responded and put up a ladder to get the pilot down from the hangar. Bell was treated at the scene by Henderson County EMS.

“It was scary because there was fuel that was coming out and you could smell it and it wouldn't take much, just a little spark...,” Mutter said.

She said first responders “were lucky it didn't blow up one shed because it would have been a chain reaction,” lighting off the row of sheds, each holding fuel-filled planes.

“I'm just glad nobody's hurt,” Mutter added.

The crash did not suspend operations at the airport, which remained open for air traffic, Capt. Steve Carter of the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

The Henderson County fire marshal's office also responded. Duke Energy was called to handle the severed power line.

Carter said that the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be conducting an investigations into the crash.

On Sept. 17, 2007, a one-seat airplane crashed in a swamp a couple hundreds yards from the Hendersonville Airport, injuring the pilot. On Oct. 19, 2007, a Cessna 182 crashed soon after take-off from the airport. Three Florida residents were involved, but none were injured.

On Dec. 1, 2007, a single-engine Cirrus four-passenger plane crashed at the end of the airport's runway as the airplane was attempting to land. The plane burst into flames after the two Florida residents inside walked away from the aircraft.

<p>A local pilot escaped without any serious injuries Friday after a plane crashed into the roof of a hangar at the Hendersonville Airport. </p><p>“We have an aircraft that's crashed on top of a hangar. There's actually no fire, no injuries, but the airplane is spilling fuel,” the owner of the plane told a 911 dispatcher at about 3:30 p.m. “I think there's probably 10 or 20 gallons in the airplane.”</p><p>The 1975 Cessna fixed-wing single engine plane, owned by Blue Ridge Sport Flight LLC out of Gainesville, Fla., was piloted by Andrew Michael Bell, 35, of Zirconia. </p><p>Bell, the only one onboard, suffered minor injuries and facial lacerations. </p><p>Henderson County sheriff's deputies secured the area with crime scene tape, warning bystanders of the possibility of an explosion from the leaking fuel and a live electrical wire brought down in the crash.</p><p>Dameon Graham, taking advantage of beautiful weather, was outside listening to music on his cellphone and raking a yard on Eastbrook Lane when he saw the plane descending.</p><p>“I saw it lower than normal,” he said, but seeing planes take off and land on a regular basis, he didn't think much of it. “I looked down and in just a split second – a bang!”</p><p>The sound of the crash overpowered the full blast of his headphones, a power he likened to an “8-Richter-scale” earthquake.</p><p>“I was inside with the TV going and all that kind of stuff and I even heard it. I mean it was loud!” said Lenora Mutter of Eastbrook Lane. “I said, 'What was that?' He said, 'A plane crashed.'”</p><p>The two rushed out and saw Bell on the roof. Members of the Blue Ridge Fire Department responded and put up a ladder to get the pilot down from the hangar. Bell was treated at the scene by Henderson County EMS.</p><p>“It was scary because there was fuel that was coming out and you could smell it and it wouldn't take much, just a little spark...,” Mutter said. </p><p>She said first responders “were lucky it didn't blow up one shed because it would have been a chain reaction,” lighting off the row of sheds, each holding fuel-filled planes.</p><p>“I'm just glad nobody's hurt,” Mutter added. </p><p>The crash did not suspend operations at the airport, which remained open for air traffic, Capt. Steve Carter of the Sheriff's Office said in a news release. </p><p>The Henderson County fire marshal's office also responded. Duke Energy was called to handle the severed power line.</p><p>Carter said that the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will be conducting an investigations into the crash.</p><p>On Sept. 17, 2007, a one-seat airplane crashed in a swamp a couple hundreds yards from the Hendersonville Airport, injuring the pilot. On Oct. 19, 2007, a Cessna 182 crashed soon after take-off from the airport. Three Florida residents were involved, but none were injured. </p><p>On Dec. 1, 2007, a single-engine Cirrus four-passenger plane crashed at the end of the airport's runway as the airplane was attempting to land. The plane burst into flames after the two Florida residents inside walked away from the aircraft.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>